Jump to Section:
Writing Villains Using the Villain Archetype
4 Tips for Writing Compelling Villains
5 Tips for Writing Villain Motivations
What Is a Villain?
A villain is the opposite of a hero. A villain is the antagonist of your story whose motivations and actions oppose the protagonist and drive the plot of your story. A villain is the opposite of a hero. In contrast to the hero, a villain is usually compelled by a desire to commit acts of cruelty and immorality.
Bestselling author Dan Brown advocates for writing your villain first—even before your hero—because it is the villain who will make the hero heroic.
What Are the Characteristics of a Good Villain?
Every great hero needs a great villain. Villains are the antagonistic force of your story that challenges your hero and drives the action. Most great villains share a common set of characteristics.
- Strong connection to the hero. The best villains are inextricably connected to the hero, and aid in the hero’s character development through their inherent opposition to them. For example, in the Harry Potter series, Lord Voldemort murdered Harry Potter’s parents when he was a child, leaving behind a magical scar on Harry’s forehead intrinsically connects the two characters throughout the story. This scar serves as a symbolic reminder of the connection between Harry and Voldemort, and foreshadows that the fates of our hero and villain are dependent on one another.
- Clear morality. Every villain needs to have his own morality. If a villain spends part your story killing people, you need to give him or her believable reasons for doing so. Make the reader understand exactly what desperation or belief has driven him to it. For instance, in Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, primary antagonist Captain Beatty’s mission is to find and destroy books because he believes that books cause people to reject the stability and tranquility of a life of conformity. He has a strong moral point of view, and the reader believes that he believes he is doing the right thing by trying to burn books. After all, every villain believes they are the hero of their own story.
- A worthy opponent. A great villain should be a strong and worthy adversary to your hero. They shouldn’t be weak and easily beaten, nor should they be so powerful that they can only be defeated by random chance. In Sherlock Holmes, his arch-nemesis Moriarty is a criminal mastermind who is every bit as smart as Sherlock. Having a villain who is in many ways equal in skill and intelligence to your hero will raise the stakes of their encounters, as it creates a credible threat that your hero might be bested.
- Compelling backstory. Any good villain should have an interesting and credible backstory. In addition to creating a deep and more three-dimensional villain, a memorable backstory allows ourselves to identify and even sympathize with the villain. For example, the Gollum character in The Lord of The Rings trilogy used to be a normal hobbit until he was corrupted by the power of the One Ring. In addition to deepening the character by showing us the full breadth of his journey from virtuousness to wickedness, Gollum’s backstory forces us to consider how we are sometimes tempted by bad or unethical forces in our own lives.
- Villains should be fun. Let’s face it: evil villains are fun. In Thomas Harris’ Silence of the Lambs, readers hold their breath whenever Hannibal Lecter appears on the page. Whether it’s their black-hearted sense of humor or their odious worldview, our favorite villains possess qualities that we love to hate.
Writing Villains Using the Villain Archetype
The villain, like the fool, is a classic archetype seen in almost every story from Shakespeare to Disney to films like 27 Dresses. However, unlike the fool, the villain has no consistent character traits. They are a shadow version of the hero, and their personality morphs based on the strengths and weaknesses of the hero.
What this means is that whoever your main character is, the villain is somehow the opposite.
General Observations About Writing Villains
After looking at those five examples, we can make some general observations about writing villains using villain archetype:
- Villains are not necessarily evil. Instead, they are opposite.
- There can sometimes be more than one villain per story.
- However, there is always only one internal villain (Dostoevsky broke the rules by having two), whether it is fear, lust for power, or control.
- This internal villain is projected onto a character or multiple characters.
- Thus, the villain is a shadow form of the character, and often the way to defeat the villain is by making peace with it.
I think this also enables us to make an observation about conflict itself:
Good external conflict always comes first from internal conflict (you might need to tweet that).
So what are your characters conflicted about? What are their weaknesses, their regions needing growth? Who is their shadow? Once you discover who their shadow is, it’s as simple as giving them a name and setting them loose.
https://thewritepractice.com/how-to-create-better-villains/
8 Villain Archetypes
Every Snow White needs an evil queen; every Gandalf needs a Sauron. Many of the great villains that oppose classic heroes fall into a handful of villain archetypes:
- Anti-villain: The anti-villain is a villain archetype in which the bad guy has a sympathetic motivation or appealing characteristics. In the same way that an anti-hero is ostensibly a good guy with villainous or immoral tendencies, an anti-villain may have justifiable, noble goals or even a good side. Examples of anti-villains include Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the film version) and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
- The beast: A classic villain whose goal is to terrorize and attempt to defeat the main character, the beast is a literal monster. This type of villain cannot be reasoned with and is often found in the horror or science fiction genres. The whale from Moby Dick and the shark from Jaws are examples of this type of villain.
- The bully: Bullies serve as simple, straightforward opposition to the protagonist. This character archetype is sometimes marked by a backstory that explains their mean and oppressive tendencies, such as a childhood marked by abuse or insecurity. Other times, they are simply mean for the sake of being mean. Examples include Nurse Ratchet from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Fletcher from the film Whiplash.
- The machine: The machine is similar to the beast, with one major difference: It is a technological construct and is therefore lifeless and incapable of pain, fear, and emotion. The machine can often be found in science fiction thrillers—like Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s robotic killing machine in The Terminator.
- The mastermind: The mastermind opposes the protagonist by overseeing a brilliant, diabolical master plan. They are a gifted schemer and evil genius who attempts to defeat the protagonist mentally as opposed to physically. Great villains in the mastermind tradition include Hans Gruber from Die Hard and Lex Luthor from the Superman series.
- Evil incarnate: This villain personifies evil itself, offering little in the way of character development or backstory. This type of evildoer serves as an obstacle to the hero’s journey and is primarily found in fantasy and superhero genres. Examples include Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, Darth Vader from Star Wars, and the Joker from The Dark Knight.
- The henchman: The henchman exists to do the dirty work of someone else, usually the mastermind or another major evil character in the story. They are functionally the sidekick of the main villain. Though they usually lack the villain’s brains, they make up for it in brawn. Examples include Boba Fett from Star Wars and the monkeys from The Wizard of Oz.
- The fanatic: The fanatic’s villainy is driven by an extreme ideology. Oftentimes, they are propelled by religion or a twisted moral belief that gives them fuel to carry out their twisted mission. The serial killer John Doe from the movie Seven is a true villain in the fanatic tradition.
Remember that even the most evil people don’t normally think of themselves as villains. In their own minds, their actions make sense. They have reasons for what they do.
Why does your villain commit evil deeds? You need to be able to get inside the character’s head to understand the logic of his/her actions from his/her perspective.
If you’re not sure what’s motivating your villain, here are two suggestions:
1) Your villain has something to gain by committing evil. This might be money, power, love, revenge, or something else that your villain badly wants.
2) Your villain might commit evil to avoid some real or imagined danger to himself/herself.
What does your villian want? What is your villain afraid of? Asking yourself these questions is a good first step to bringing your villain to life.
https://www.creative-writing-now.com/character-ideas.html
4 Tips for Writing Compelling Villains
When it comes to writing villains who transcend cliches, there are four techniques that can elevate your writing:
- Make sure your villain has a strong connection to your hero. A true villain is inextricably connected to the hero and aids in the hero’s character development. For example, in the Harry Potter series, Lord Voldemort murdered Harry’s parents when he was a child, leaving behind a magical scar on Harry’s forehead. This scar serves as a symbolic reminder of the connection between Harry and the power-hungry Voldemort and foreshadows that the fates of our hero and villain are dependent on one another.
- Make them a worthy opponent. A great villain is a strong and worthy adversary to your hero, directly opposing the hero archetype of your protagonist. The villain shouldn’t be weak and easily beaten, nor should they be so powerful that they can only be defeated by random chance. In the Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes’s arch-nemesis Moriarty is a brilliant criminal mastermind. Having a villain who is equal in skill and intelligence to your hero will raise the stakes of their encounters, creating a credible threat to your hero.
- Put yourself in your villain’s shoes. When it’s time for your villain to act, put yourself in their place. Think about challenges or hardships that might tempt people to act out or behave badly. How do you react to bad things? Tap into those emotions and try to apply them to your villain.
- Consider your villain’s motivation. Why does your villain want to rule with an iron fist? Why do they want to put the damsel in distress? As with your main character, determining your antagonist’s motivation can help you unlock other aspects of their character, such as their goals and their personality.
5 Tips for Writing Villain Motivations
An authentic, three-dimensional villain has clear motivations. Their motivations help us understand their goals, desires, and character traits. If you find yourself experiencing writer’s block when trying to determine your villain’s motivation, try following these tips to help clarify their aims and goals:
- Use backstory to explain your villain’s motivation. The most interesting villains have compelling backstories that explain how they became bad guys in the first place. In Marvel’s Avengers comic books and film series, the supervillain is Thanos. We learn that Thanos used to live on the planet Titan, a world ravaged by overpopulation and resource scarcity. He believes that the rest of the universe is primed to suffer the same fate, so he develops a plan: destroy half of all lifeforms in the universe, thus sparing the remainder the same fate that befell his home planet. In this way, Thanos’s motivation to do evil things is explained through his backstory and point of view about humanity.
- Explain your villain’s relationship to power. Most villains share a desire to obtain power. Some villains only want to have power over your main character. Others want to take over the world and achieve ultimate power. When crafting your big bad, you should analyze your evil villain’s relationship to power. Why does the bad guy in your story seek power? Are they trying to prove something? Are they trying to mask a childhood wound or deficiency? What do they hope to accomplish by achieving power?
- Give your villain a strong connection to the protagonist. The best villains are inextricably linked to the protagonist in some way. One of the reasons why Voldemort is such a great villain is his strong relationship with Harry Potter, the story’s protagonist and main character. After Voldemort tries and fails to kill Harry as a baby, he becomes obsessed with enacting revenge and spends the rest of the series trying to finish what he started. Thus, the main antagonist’s motives are directly linked to the protagonist, and his villainy throughout the series is fueled by his desire to finally defeat Harry Potter.
- Make sure your villain has weaknesses or vulnerabilities. A good villain should feel like a real person, and real people have vulnerabilities. Their vulnerabilities might be internal, such as an abundance of pride or a willingness to trust untrustworthy people. Weaknesses can be external as well: In The Lord of the Rings, Sauron is greatly weakened if he is without the One Ring. These vulnerabilities have a storytelling purpose: If your villain is invincible, then the protagonist’s goal of defeating them can never be realized. These weaknesses can also serve as good motivations for your villain, as the bad things that they do throughout the story may be rooted in a desire to overcome their vulnerable character traits.
- Root your villain’s motivations in real life. Few people are evil for the sake of evil. Villains who appear to be psychopaths or criminal masterminds usually have motivations that are rooted in real-life struggles that normal people face every day. Perhaps they began as a good guy who was corrupted by greed. Maybe their dark side can be explained by a fear of losing their loved ones. Whatever their reason for doing evil deeds, your villains and antiheroes’ character motivations should be rooted in a relatable desire or emotion. Readers are more likely to be engaged in your villain’s own story and character development if they can recognize seeds of themselves in your antagonist.
KC Storytellers 